Let's Open the Cookie Jar

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it's basically the inside of sakinah's brain.
but mercifully edited, censored, and anaesthesised with a heavy dose of prozac.

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No. 6 (Romeo and Juliet?)

One interesting aspect to No.6 is that it has this humongous potential to be a sci-fi anime bordering on BL where sexuality is, and at the same time, is not, an issue. You have a MC who is seemingly asexual as he refuses his childhood friends' blatant request for his sperm (no, really, she asked it like that), and the girl herself is interesting in the pragmatic way she looks upon reproduction. Then of course there's the secondary MC who is just bursting with sexual tension but somehow manages to stay relatively asexual as well.

That's the 'sexuality that may be an issue' part, and I did mention that the story can be not about which team you root for simply because of the futuristic setting whereby such things is the norm or at least an accepted deviant. And when you set your mind to that gear, it's actually very easy to get on with the story and accept it as just a unique characteristic of No.6.

Plot-wise, it's different from your typical shounen but it isn't anything special either. It's set in a futuristic world picking itself up after a war that ravaged pretty much everything, leaving only 6 cities left standing. The titular No.6 comes from the name of the 6th city in question, and that's mainly where the story takes place. A utopia amidst an otherwise desolate land, the audience is introduced to the conspiracy lurking in the shadows of No.6.

One other quirky point about No.6 is the non-conventional script. When I read the manga, I'll admit I was a bit taken back by the contrast between the crass language and the pretty boy art. They toned it down in the anime, but I dunno, I was starting to like it really. Oh, and there are plenty of literary references as well. I was extremely delighted when the MC started quoting Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince all of a sudden, and couldn't help but grin maniacally whenever the secondary MC break off on a Shakespearean quote. This definitely earns No.6 brownie points with Western viewers, or at least the non-Japanese audience.

I'm still feeling rather wary of No.6, though. The pain of 07-Ghost lingers in the air still. Not to mention the way the story revolved around just the two MCs remind me very much of Animal X, although of course the two stories are like heaven and earth. Well, sorta. Hmm...actually now that I mentioned it...

Ah. I should have talked about the iftar yesterday night at Pannaz. Hmm.. but I'm feeling pretty sure that Amira Zuber will be blogging about it (or maybe she has already) so I can shuffle real life out from this blog just another moment longer.

Labels: anime, no.6

the otaku rages

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi has been removed off Youtube. the only way i can watch it is by becoming a premium member over at Crunchyroll- which is very the peachy because hey, we support Nakamura Shungiku just as much as any fan. what? no account? then never mind, wait for the licensed DVD! remember to continue supporting the mangaka/studio/whoever-it-is-that-sweated-blood-and-tears-to-release-it.

fuck that shit because i have never seen any licensed anime DVD here in Malaysia. well, actually I did, that one time in Kinokuniya but that's inconsequential to the anime industry here in general.

you can walk into any DVD store here in Malaysia that sells anime and chances are you'll see nothing but bootleg. some have subs ripped from fansubbers, whereas others have fan-fucking-tastically awful subs that butcher the characters name, mix up sentences like sambal belacan in a blender and what's more, still retain that mysterious chinese character that doesn't quite translate to english and since the bootleggers don't really know what to do (nor do they care, pshaaw), they just left the random BE, JII, or misc crap like that in. i don't even know how to begin telling you how badly that irritates me. and how confusing was that sentence?

now i'll have to stomach the horrible subs, horrible video quality, annoying moving little icons (which doesn't make a fake any more legitimate, fucking idiots), all because of the nonexistent local anime rights. don't start on online shopping because i can't do shit like that.

not to mention the US div of Tokyopop is shutting down, hence bye bye Togainu no Chi, bye bye Tactics, bye bye- wait, i think that's all the title i'm following. . . no, there's also Qwan and Demon Flowes. . .oh sheesh. when i first started buying manga, i had always maintained a careful distance between myself and Tokyopop for some unknown reason. oh yea, because my first couple of manga were from Viz and ADV respectively and the sudden outpouring of so many Tokyopop titles on the bookshelves scared me a little. but then ADV collapsed, and the license for Tactics changed hands to Tokyopop so i was forced to support what i hated.

and from then on Tokyopop and I have a (one-sided) love/hate relationship. they made a passable job at translating Tactics at first, even adding in the translation notes at the end like what ADV did, but that eventually dwindled away to jackshit. kinda like Suikoden III and Wild Adapter. at first they-OHMYGODIJUSTREMEMBEREDWILDADAPTER*GAAAASP*

...that's it. i better stop now before it becomes a full blown rant against Stu Levy. it is really very sad that they're closing before they had a chance to improve and gain a solid standing in the manga market, but face it, Tokyopop has always had problems.

ah well. in the end i should focus on graduating and getting myself a credit card so i can finally buy things online and fill my future 2LDK apartment with towering stacks of manga and magazines, litter the floor and any available flat surface with amazingly detailed figurines and mecha, and put my 40'' plasma TV with surround sound and PS3 as the centerpiece of the living room, plus a sofa that can easily be converted into a bed. we won't need food because the convenience store is gonna be within walking distance.

i foresee an interesting future ahead as the useless shut-in dentist who makes money just so she can spend it online. yeah. amazing.

Labels: anime, manga, rants

exams are ovaaaaaah

Socks might be able to afford playing possum,

but the things she catch, unfortunately, cannot.

Nadia : Sakinah, help me. Socks brought in a rat.

Me : Ew.

Nadia: Inside the house.

Me : Ew.

Nadia : And it's alive.

*sound of furniture being thrown frantically aside to form a barrier of sorts against the bubonic plague carrier*

Damnit Socks, we appreciate your efforts in letting us join in the game, but frankly speaking, our predator-compass has been missing a magnet for a long time. We homo sapiens, particularly the daughters of Eve in the house of Abdul Halim are spectacular fail at catching rats single-handedly like the mighty felinus feline that you are. In short, don't do that again. Ever.

Okay, on to other news.

Exams are ovaaaaaaah~! And I went through it completely emotionless. Which is worrying. Bitching about the exams is one thing, but being apathetic towards it is just... wrong. Attitude is important in taking the next step. I need to have better control of myself.

Oh, right, things that happened. Went to the movies with Aliaa and Som to watch HP7 yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie did not suck half bad. Emma Watson definitely took the limelight for this movie. Yet it peeves me off to see the three main characters not acting very, um, best-pal kind of thing together. Their interaction together seemed forced, awkward at best, which is surprising considering the time they must have spent together filming the series. The tension is probably mainly because of the plot of the 7th movie in itself, but I always get this feeling whenever I watch any of the movies. It's just odd. Or maybe it's a British personal privacy thing.

And finally, before I leave, KHR OST is just epic. I'll consider driving more often if I have the OST playing full blast in the car. Or it might send me off on another daydream. That's not very good. I just mentioned that I need to have better control! (am listening to Ryohei's track and it's just, ugh, ugh ;___; I WANT SO BAD!)

Labels: anime, movies, pets, uni stuff

I, Fangirl?

!Warning, this post is a fan-rant!

It's FIFA season, but nothing's stopping me from enjoying baseball anime on the side. And what better way to toast teamwork and sports psychology than Ookiku Furikabutte?

The manga was drawn/written by Asa Higuchi while the animation was produced by A-1 Pictures Inc and directed under the helm of Tsutomu Mizushima who also directed xxxHolic, another anime I enjoyed before CLAMP steered the manga into self-destruction mode.

Now, we have Aniplex backing, good director, solid story and baseball in the mix. Sounds like a winner just as it is. Problem in the equation is that I care squat about baseball. The closest bit I got to holding a mitt and a bat was in high school softball for one game. We were playing defense, I was fielder (God knows where) and none of the girls could hit the ball so we never moved much. It was the most boring game in the world. So, why the sudden interest in Oofuri?

For those who know me well, I just have to say pitchercatcher and everything else is self-explanatory. Even so, it's not the only attraction that Oofuri offers.

There's a good dose of comedy available, be it impressions or inside-joke baseball jargon. The characters mesh together so well, and their interaction almost feels like a real gang of friends playing ball and having fun.

Of course, it's not all joy and laughter as the team challenges themselves to new levels in each step of the competition. There's a lot of work to be done, strategy planning to be thought of and morale to uphold. Asa Higuchi is a graduate of sports psychology, and a baseball fanatic, so she (yes, you read that right, she) incorporated a lot of her knowledge in her work. Everything might seem overwhelming to a baseball beginner, heck, even daunting, but underneath the complexities of Japanese high school baseball, Oofuri stuck to the basic of the basics.

Have fun. Enjoy yourselves. Learn about your limits and possibilities.

The icing on the cake for this philosophy is arguably the pitcher of the Nishiura High, Mihashi Ren; a timid boy traumatized by his experience as a pitcher for his previous school. He became the outcast in his own team because they thought he only got the position out of favoritism. He carried the stigma with him to high school, and remained doubtful of his ability despite much-deserved praise from his new teammates. Who can blame him, though? Tell a person he's useless over and over again, and in time, he might come to believe it himself.

The season 2 finished with a... downward slope for the Nishiura High, but I'm optimistic for more. Sports anime, especially baseball, is usually well-received with higher chances of being continued. All that's left is for Asa Higuchi to work out her charm and bring out the best in her boys and we'll sit back, gnaw out hangnails in frustration and anticipation, and enjoy the game.

Labels: anime, manga, rants, sports